The Bundesliga 2024-25 Resumes with a Thrilling Clash

Shilpa Rajan January 15, 2025

The Bundesliga 2024-25 has resumed after a brief winter break. Borussia Dortmund were hosts to defending champions, Bayer Leverkusen in the opening match of the new year. While Leverkusen is looking to close the gap on Bayern, Dortmund is also fighting for third place in the league table.

Leverkusen came out with a lot of intent in this match. This paid off as they got an early lead and won a thrilling match, 3-2. Here is how the game went between these two German giants.

The Bundesliga 2024-25: Exciting start

German fans were waiting for football to resume in their nation. The winters have been quite chilly this year and they needed something that could bring the heat in them. Dortmund and Leverkusen had a plan in store that no one knew about.

In the opening minute of the game, the visitors were up at the Signal Iduna Park. Robert Andrich created a chance from a header. Nathan Tella was quick to pounce on this opportunity and scored the first goal of the game.

Patrik Schick is the leading goal-scorer for Bayer Leverkusen this season. He scored his 10^th goal of the league season in the eighth minute of the game. Piero Hincapie created the goal and Schick scored it with his right foot. It was a dream start for Xabi Alonso and his men. They were 2-0 up away from home against a good Borussia Dortmund side. Nuri Sahin and his men had no answers to this Leverkusen attack. They were struggling.

However, young Jamie Gittens had some other plans. He brought Dortmund back into the game with a strike in the 12^th minute. The 20-year-old found the back of the net with his left foot. Dortmund were just one goal behind and had a belief.

Bayer Leverkusen delivered another killer blow. In the 19^th minute, Jeremie Frimpong found Patrik Schick in the box. Schick took no time to score his second of the night. He took his tally to 11 league goals and Leverkusen were 3-1 up at half-time.

Dortmund’s fightback in the second half

Borussia Dortmund needed two goals to get back into the game. It was not easy against the defending champions. The home team controlled the game in the second 45. However, they failed to create enough chances. Leverkusen were heading to an easy win in the opposition’s territory.

Summer signing, Sehrou Guirassy got a chance to bring back Dortmund in the game. He scored a spot kick in the 79^th minute to take the score to 3-2. The match became interesting and added a bit of pressure on Leverkusen’s defense. Xabi Alonso’s men remained calm and defended well to win the game.

Leverkusen are now 10-match unbeaten and on a nine-match winning streak. They are back in good form after not such a good start to the season. On the other hand, Dortmund are struggling to win matches. They have just collected one win in the last six games.